Mad House
by yoshi ftw
Summary: The first time I witnessed someone being killed was when I was seven and three quarters old. I'd never forget those eyes. ScarecrowOC
1. Hey There Blue Eyes

The first time I witnessed a person being killed was when I was seven and three quarters old.

It was a Tuesday.

And I don't think I've seen the sun shine as brightly as it did that day.

I had wandered away from my parents, as every child who's filled with curiosity and innocence does at that age.

I was minding my own business, looking into the store windows, gazing longingly at anything that caught my eye.

A loud bang echoed through the air, and that's when the panic set in.

Another shot made my ears ring like on the Fourth of July when my father took me to see fireworks.

A few feet away from me there was a person lying on the ground.

A liquid, the same shade of red as my hair, trickled down their chin as a puddle of it began to form underneath their unmoving body.

Eyes as blue as the cloud-filled sky above stared at me, wide from shock.

I watched as the life slowly faded from those amazing blue eyes.

It was then that I realized I didn't like the color blue.

I much preferred the color red.


	2. Interrogation

**Author's Note: **_Hello~ I decided to post the second chapter before I got lazy and start procrastinating. (: Anyway, this is a slight introduction on a few of the characters. No Scarecrow yet, but he will show up within the next few chapters, so never fear._

The old abandoned warehouse pulsed to the bass of a rather catchy techno song; my eyes were focused on the small handheld game, my face contorting into a concentrated expression, not even noticing someone walk up behind me. I continued smashing the buttons of the game console that is until a faint muttering from the distance interrupted my thought process. Glancing over my shoulder, I was met with a pair of plain, obviously not amused, brown eyes, one of them having a red heart painted around it, the right to be more specific.

Damien Chambers; more commonly known to the crime world as the infamous King of Hearts. His black hair was flipped at the sides, long bangs tamed to his face by a few gallons of hairspray. His mouth moved, pierced lips forming words, but which I had no idea. He continued to talk, completely unaware of the fact that no audible words were reaching my ears, while I kept on playing the delightful game of Pokémon that's had me captivated for the past few days, paying no mind to my right-hand man. Slowly growing tired of hearing that faint buzzing of his voice, I sighed, and paused my game, flicking the pause switch on the stereo next to my royal red plush couch. He had stopped talking, instead opting to stare at me with anticipation, "So what do you think Red?"

"What do I think?" I asked rolling over, I sat up straight, placing my game to the side, propping my head up with my hands on the side of the couch, "I think you might need to repeat that." I gave him a catty grin as he rolled his eyes at me.

"The preparations have been made." He said, arms crossed, staring down at me with disinterest.

"All of them?" I asked, swinging my legs around the edge of the couch, my feet touching the warm fuzzy maroon carpet, toes wiggling happily, "That was fast."

Damien nodded, "Yeah, but we ran into a small problem."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

~ ~

"We managed to take all of them out with minimal injuries, but the guy we're interrogating won't say who they're working for, he won't even open his eyes." Damien explained the situation, as we walked towards the interrogation room that we had in the warehouse, it was a small cramped room, inside, a man stood with his back to us, facing a boy, around eighteen or nineteen with baggy clothes that made him appear much bigger than his string-bean form actually was. His pale face was bloodied and bruised, a few teeth that were stained with blood, which I could only assume were his, laid scattered on the floor beneath him. He looked as if he could have once been attractive, had he not been bruised and battered to the point where even his own mother wouldn't recognize him. His eyes remained closed, just as Damien had told me, greasy hair, dampened by blood, both fresh and old, clung to his face.

"Did he talk yet?" I asked, my question directed at the man who had his back turned to Damien and I. He turned around; foggy hazel eyes stared back into my own emerald green ones with little emotion. His shoulder-length blonde hair dirtied with light brown streaks was held up in a tiny ponytail at the back of his head, a red heart painted across his left eye.

A deep raspy voice erupted from his mouth, "No, he won't say a word."

Ace of Hearts; that's who he is. He used to have a name, a real one at least, but he's either long forgotten or just doesn't care to tell so we don't bother to ask, "Where's Adrian?" I inquired, eyes no longer focused on the tall blonde, but to the bloodied body in front of me, "He was supposed to be with you, wasn't he?"

"He's taking care of the other ones. Ace didn't want him interfering with the interrogation." Damien replied for Ace, while the blonde stepped away from the boy, taking his place at my left side, "So what are you going to do with him?" He jerked his thumb at the boy, who listened intently to our conversation, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I shrugged, walking towards the boy, heels clicking against the cracked concrete, "What I always do." I said simply, grabbing the boy by his hair, not minding the blood that got on my hands, I hauled him up from the floor, "Make him talk." He hissed in pain as I yanked at his hair, forcing him to turn towards me, but his eyes remained closed, blonde eyelashes dripped blood that leaked onto them from the wide gash on his forehead.

Behind me, Damien cackled, "Poor bastard, he's going to wish he had talked after she's through with him." With that, both he and Ace took their leave, Ace muttering something to Damien, causing him to stop his incessant laughter, the slamming of the heavy steel door prevented me from hearing any more of their conversation.

"What's your name?" I asked, throwing him into the metal chair. He let out a low groan of pain, clutching his wounded side, but still gave no answer. A scowl formed on my freckled face, my cheeks puffing out like that of a disappointed child, "Can you talk?" Grabbing his face I forced him to face me, nails embedding themselves into his already swollen cheeks, "If you don't answer, I'm going to make you bite your own tongue off to be reassured you really _can't_ talk." He struggled against my grasp, but I jerked his head back towards me, "Now I'm going to ask again. _Can you talk_?"

He remained silent, hesitating before licking his dry cracking lips with an even dryer pink appendage, "Y-yes!" He cried out, or at least tried to; his voice was barely above a whisper.

"What's your name?" I hissed my first question, and when he gave no answer, I released my grasp on his face, sliding it towards the back of his head, smashing it against the hard metal surgical table. He yelped as my grip tightened, pulling his head back up, "What's your name?!"

"Jake Samuels…" He let out a raspy breath, "It's Jake Samuels."

Letting go of his hair, I took a step back, "And who do you work for,_ Jake Samuels_?"

His eyebrows creased together and I could see him biting at the inside of his cheeks, a sign of nervousness. After a long pregnant silence, he finally spoke, "Scarecrow."

I tilted my head, eyes wide with curiosity, "Scarecrow you say?" I grabbed the chair that was pushed off to the side, sliding it along the concrete floor with an ear-splitting shriek, I took a seat next to the boy, "Who's Scarecrow?"

His lips trembled as he muttered the name repeatedly, his muscles tensed as he clenched and unclenched his hands, "He can't know." He whimpered pathetically, "He can't know I told you. He'll make _them_ come back. I don't want them to come back!" He screeched, "They're going to kill me if they find out I was caught! Please don't tell him!" But, his frantic cries fell on deaf ears as I stared at his now wide eyes as they shook with a nervous frenzy. The steel door creaked open, then slammed shut and I felt Ace and Damien walk on either side of me. Bloodshot eyes, as blue as the sky stared up at me, an almost pleading look was held behind them.

I heard Ace mumble something to Damien, but the only word that stuck out to me was 'blue'. My hand tightened into a fist, my fingernails digging into the skin beneath, "What do you want to do with him?" Damien asked, taking notice to my sudden change in attitude.

"Kill him." I hissed, and they stood there, hesitating, "Kill him, now!" Damien noticeably jumped at the harshness of my voice while Ace barely winced. I could hear the desperate screams of the boy whose eyes reminded me of the sky, but I continued to walk away, the door banging shut behind me, finally silencing the raspy screams. I continued walking down the corridor which led to my own room, before I stopped a short distance from the interrogation room, "Scarecrow, huh?" I snorted, continuing to walk as I took a deep breath, "_I hate blue._"


	3. Wild Goose Chase

**Author's Note: **_Hello guys~ this is a rather long chapter, mostly introducing more characters, to clear anything up that you might be wondering about after you read this chapter; Cards is the organization that the characters (the ones already introduced and those yet to have been) work for. In the Card organization there are four different divisions called, Suits, these are Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds. In each Suit there are four Faces, the King, Queen, Jack and Ace and then nine other members called Numbers, ranking from Two to Ten, the higher the Number, the higher they rank. Also, the main character, the Queen of Hearts goes by a few aliases, Eleanor, Ellie, Red Queen, Red, just to name a few, so no one gets confused when different characters call her by another name.  
_

"C'mon slackers! We're going to a party!" Damien called from the balcony that overlooked the Number's quarters, all nine of them lounged around, some on their designated beds and others sprawled across the dull red carpet, gazing up at Damien.

"Party?" Two of Hearts mumbled, a meek boy with mousy hair and just as dull brown eyes, "What kind of party?"

"Well, not exactly a party, per se." Damien grinned, "Eleanor ordered Ace and I to get a few of you to come with us to tail some big shot mob boss." Staring down at the nine men, Damien shrugged, "So y'know, figure out who's going amongst yourselves." With that he proceeded to walk away, leaving them to fight amongst each other, after all, it wasn't everyday they got to get out of the warehouse to just follow some guy around all day.

"You're such an idiot." Ace mumbled, following after Damien, "She said we could bring them all if we wanted to."

"Key word, _wanted_, I don't want all of those idiots trailing after us like a bunch of lost puppies, five will be sufficient for tailing some stupid Italian guy who probably doesn't know the difference between left and right." Ace rolled his clouded eyes at his cohort's logic, despite it mostly likely being correct.

A new voice rang through the air, a light and childish tone to it, "Where are you going?" A boy, who couldn't be more than eighteen or nineteen approached the two men who towered over his barely 5"5' twig of a frame. Eyes that were greener than any grassy plain in the world gazed up at them with curiosity; pure blonde hair remained untamed, falling into his eyes.

Damien snorted at the boy, "We're going to take care of a few things for Eleanor."

"Huh?" He tilted his head in confusion, "How come I'm not going?"

From the doorway beside them, I poked my head out, my eyes heavy with sleep, "Because this is a serious job and I don't need anyone screwing it up."

Adrian Martin, one of the new recruits that quickly rose to the rank of Jack of Hearts due to his exceeding knowledge of machines and computers. Despite his childish demeanor and lack of common sense, he was a good part of our organization.

His form was slumped down in disappointment, face falling just as low, "So I'm not needed?"

"Not with them, but I'd like you to do a few things for me in the meantime." I gave him a light pat on the head, tousling his blonde locks in the process.

"Really?!" His face lit up like a Christmas tree, eyes coming alive with anticipation, "Is it something only I can do? Like a top secret project or something?!"

I cracked a smile, "Something like that." Turning towards Damien and Ace who remained silent, waiting for orders, I gave them a stern look, "You two, go prepare for your departure. Make sure the Numbers haven't killed each other, and take _all_ of them with you." Giving Damien a demanding look, he flinched, a sheepish grin overtaking his face.

"Right." Ace mumbled, stalking off in the direction they had just come from, where I could still hear the Numbers fighting with each other.

"So bossy." Damien grumbled in a playful manner, following after his blonde colleague who already had put a big distance between them in just a few seconds.

"So what am I supposed to do?" The remaining boy asked with an inquisitive stare.

"Well Adrian," Placing my hand on the back of his neck, I felt the hairs stand on end, as I guided him down the dimly lit hallway, "You know that assignment I had you working on a few days ago?"

His mouth opened to answer, "You mean the-"

"Yes, _that_ assignment." I smiled, "I want you to have it finished by eight tonight." My grin turned grim, "And if you don't you're being demoted to a Number."

His leaf-green eyes suddenly filled with unbridled fright, "Eight tonight?" He asked his voice barely above a whisper.

"You can do it… can't you?" Narrowing my eyes down toward him in a suspicious glance, I held back a smirk.

"Y-yeah!" He nodded his head vigorously, hair flying in the air with each movement, "No worries! It'll be done." He reassured me, lips turned up into a smile, revealing white crooked teeth.

"Well then, hop to it, no sense wasting time that shouldn't be wasted." Patting him on the back firmly, he took it as the signal to leave, scurrying off down the hallway into the murky corridors, vanishing completely from sight.

The sound of soft, almost inaudible footsteps barely reached my ears, followed by a low, deep feminine chuckle, "My, my, Eleanor, I never knew you were so harsh on your subordinates."

I could feel my fingertips twitch, red lips curling in disgust, "Shouldn't you be in the meeting room waiting for me?"

The woman of obvious Hispanic descent, with coffee eyes that looked darker than black hidden under thick lashes that formed sinister shadows over her eyes, sneered at me, "You were taking so long I decided to see if you were… _well_." Brushing the black fringe out of her eyes, she smiled, lips smeared with black paint turning up to reveal perfectly straight white teeth, "It seems you are alive and kicking, _unfortunately_." She mumbled the last part in a sardonic manner, "And I was wondering, what that little assignment is that your Jack is working on."

Turning away from her, I rolled my eyes, "As if I would tell you." Glancing over my shoulder I gave her a sideways looking, "Don't forget you, the Queen of Clubs, is also my subordinate."

Deanna Ramirez grimaced, "Don't remind me." Her eyes that were darker than black turned away surveying the cracking sheet rock that made up the walls.

"Is everyone here?" I questioned, breaking the silence that had taken over the small passageway.

"Yes, we've just been waiting for you and the other Heart Faces."

"They won't be coming." I told her, beginning to walk down the hallway, heels clicking against the floorboards, "I don't want them to know of the situation."

A sly grin took over her slim face, "So you're hiding things from them now." She taunted, not bothering to notice the harsh glare I sent in her direction.

"I am not keeping things from them, I just know how they'll react, and I'd rather not have to deal with them if it's just a false alarm."

"Excuses, excuses." She tutted, turning on her heel, "We should get going now, I'm pretty sure they're growing impatient." Giving her a curt nod of agreement, I led her to the meeting room, where eleven people had gathered, sitting around a square table that was placed in the middle of the room, its polished wood barely shining in the faint light. One side was completely vacant of people, while another had only one empty seat, which Deanna had taken as we walked in, the scruffy looking man beside her was the first to notice my arrival, scratching at the stubble on his chin.

The King of Clubs, Adam Daniels, grinned, "Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence." He announced haughtily, and all talking in the room stopped, eyes focused on me as I walked towards the empty seats on the farthest side of the table from the entrance, taking a seat across from a perky platinum blonde, who greeted me with great enthusiasm.

"Hello Eleanor!" The Queen of Diamonds, Giselle Christophe, smiled; eyes that reminded me of a cloudy sapphire jewel seemed to smile along with her.

"Good afternoon Giselle." I welcomed her with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Settling into my chair, that resembled a chess piece, a queen to be exact, and in the middle, etched into the golden plated chair was a red heart that gleamed in the light. The other Queens also had a chair similar to mine, with the exception of their respective suit being carved into the chair instead of a heart, "Sorry I'm late, I had a few things to take care of." I apologized, crossing my legs, my fingers lacing together on the table, "Now I'd like to get down to business."

"You can't just come late into a meeting that _you_ called and expect _us_ to listen to you!" A girl yelled; she was around the same age as Adrian with wild multi-colored hair that seemed to defy gravity; her sea green eyes glared at me defiantly.

Sighing, I leaned back into my chair, "Laura, I would appreciate it if you would keep your Ace's mouth shut during meetings."

A woman that looked eerily similar to the Queen of Clubs eyed me lazily, "Sorry, sorry." She apologized, although it didn't show on her face, "You know how she gets." Turning towards the girl that sat on the side of the King of Spades, she spoke, "Cory, shut the hell up." Cory Ramon, the Ace of Spades face fell, muttering an incoherent apology to the higher ranking woman as well as to me. Laura smiled conqueringly, nodding her head, her long raven colored locks bobbing along with her, eyes darker than black smiling in a knowing way. Laura Ramirez, sister of Deanna Ramirez, also known as the Queen of Spades was not a woman of many words, but when she entered a room she commanded respect. She sat next to the King of Spades who remained silent throughout the whole ordeal; Max Lemmings, a rather silent man, just as calm as his female counterpart, but with a temper far worse. Hiding behind chocolate tinted bangs were eyes with a hidden black fury.

"Yeah Cory, shut the hell up!" A boy with spiky brown hair on the other side of Laura said snarkily, wild laughter soon following.

"Shut up, douche bag!" Cory retorted, eyes lighting up in rage, slamming her palms on the table going to lunge over Max and Laura to Sebastian, the Jack of Spades, until Max began to speak.

"Sit down, you're being extremely disrespectful." A deadly overtone was laced in his voice; his form was stiff with tension.

"No, no. It's quite alright. This is a good form of entertainment before a long dreary meeting about nonsense." I intervened, before Max could do any harm towards his Ace, a playful tone to my voice.

A loud booming laughter erupted in the room, "That's just like you Ellie, thinking people fighting is entertainment." Leonardo Maroni, the nephew of the infamous mob boss, Sal Maroni, otherwise known as the King of Diamonds, was a man that lived up to his name, diamonds upon diamonds piled onto his body; necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets… everything that touched his body was encrusted with diamonds. Even the band that held back his dark hair was stringed with diamonds.

Giselle tried to quiet down his unnecessary laughter, but someone else beat her to it, "Jesus, Leo, shut up for a second, you're so goddamn loud!" The Jack of Diamonds, Evan Damon, whined. His fingers that were covered in jewels cupped over his ears, caramel brown eyes scrunched up in mock pain.

A loud hollow sound echoed through the room as Giselle smacked him in the back of the head, "Be quiet Evan, you're being obnoxious."

A snicker came from the other side of Leo, Anthony Nielson, the Ace of Diamonds tried to silence his own laughter, muffling it with his calloused hands, "You guys are so amusing."

"Oh dear." Giselle muttered in a worried tone as Anthony practically fell out of his chair in a fit of giggles, "Calm down Anthony, you're going to choke."

Sure enough, as if on cue, he began to choke, Leo patting him roughly on the back, in attempts to stop his loud gasping noises, but the opposite effect happened as his coughs began to get louder and rougher.

"Fools." One of the boys that sat on the Clubs' side, next to the Diamonds' side, mumbled, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Oh Aaron, be quiet. Don't start trouble." Deanna grinned playfully, a malicious intent behind that smile of hers as she scolded her Ace, Aaron Bale; a young man of twenty two that enjoyed causing trouble, but always had a knack for getting out of it with the good use of his big teal eyes that glimmered brighter than the Caribbean on the sunniest day.

"Let him start trouble," Said the man next to Deanna, "He's good at it!" Brian Elmer, the Jack of Clubs, grinned psychotically, "And it's hilarious to watch the other Suits beat the crap out of him."

Leo whistled a low note, "I think you and Ellie are in the same boat there, Brian."

Before Brian could retort I cleared my throat, "I'd like to get down to business before a fight breaks out and I have to scrape your bodies off the floor." Leaning my elbows onto the table, I intertwined my fingers together, propping my chin on top, "I believe we have a bit of a problem."

"And what could we possibly have a problem with?" Deanna asked, her slender eyebrow quirking in interest.

"Tell me," My sharp eyes wandered to each person that sat at the Suit table, "Have any of you ever heard of a person called _Scarecrow_?"

"I can't believe she sent us on a wild goose chase!" Damien hissed, stomping down the corridor, Ace following closely behind him, an equally annoyed look adorning his face, "What the hell is she hiding?!" Ace grunted in what could only be agreement, a determined look appearing on Damien's face, "I'm sure as hell going to find out!"

The door to the meeting room swung open, the hinges practically coming off and I could hear the wood split in two upon collision with the wall behind it. Glancing over, I looked at Damien and Ace, who was dragging Adrian behind by the scruff of his greasy white t-shirt, a faint cry of confusion coming from his mouth.

"Oh, hello boys." A pleasant, but dry greeting escaping my lips that were poised in a smile, "What can I do for you?"

"Don't give us that pleasantry bullshit you conniving bitch!" Damien pointed his finger at me angrily, marching towards me, his leather boots that were soaked from the rain squeaked against the wooden floor. While everyone stared at him in mostly shock, some with disgust, the smile on my face never left, "You sent us out to tail a guy that doesn't even exist!" My eyebrows rose at that accusation, "What the fuck are you hiding?!"

My smile faded slightly, "Whatever could you possibly mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean!" He screeched, "What's with the secret meeting?! We're Faces, aren't we? Why the hell weren't we told?!"

"I was confirming something." I stated blankly, the smile dropping from my face, "I didn't want you to get all up in arms about it before I figured out what was going on."

"What do you mean confirm?" Ace asked, stopping Damien from making another rude comment directed towards me.

"That boy we interrogated a few days ago," My mind wandered back towards those eyes, those blue _fucking_ eyes, "He told me he was working for someone called Scarecrow."

"Scarecrow?" Damien asked, "What the hell is Scarecrow?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," I sighed, a solemn look on my face, "But we really have no clue who he is, he just sort of… appeared."

"You should've just told us, we probably could've had it figured out without this unnecessary… meeting." He shot the other Suits a look of disgust, "We can do it without _their_ help."

"And that's why I didn't tell you." My eyes narrowed at him, "We have no idea what this Scarecrow character is capable of, and I'd rather not risk losing you guys to our own ignorance."

He fell quiet, Adrian finally piping up, sticking his head out from behind Ace, "So what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to have a few of my sources try and find out if this person even exists, or if that boy was just spouting out nonsense." Resting against the plush back of the seat, I sighed, "Meanwhile, we're going to lay low, meaning no drug deals, no hold ups, no anything. If it sounds illegal, don't do it." I glanced over at the other Suits, who all nodded their heads without complaint, "With that said, you all may leave."

The sound of chairs squeaking against the floor and inaudible mumbling reached my ears as the Diamonds, Clubs and Spades all left the room, leaving me alone with the Heart Faces.

"Are we really going to do nothing?" Damien questioned, a scowl on his face.

A catty smirk made my lips twitch up, "Really Damien, and how long have you known me?"

A bark of a laugh ripped at his throat, "I knew you weren't going to take this lying down!" He immediately rushed towards my side, Ace and Adrian following after, "So what's the plan?"

"Since I don't want the other Suits interfering with our plans, we'll need to be very subtle." Eying the doorway where the other Suits had all left from, I turned to face my cronies, "I've already received information from Hatter that this Scarecrow fellow will be receiving a shipment of drugs at one of the ports downtown. We'll capture him and question him then, we'll kill him." A sneer formed at my lips, "He'll know not to mess with the Queen of Hearts." Thinking back to the day where he practically ruined the plans I had set for a five-hundred thousand dollar heist, had it not been for my Faces quick thinking.

"You think he'll be easy to take out?" Ace asked, breaking the silence.

"We'll find out now, won't we?"

"Um... Ellie?" Adrian glanced over at the clock on the wall that read 7:58, his hands wringing the dirty white shirt worriedly, "Am I still going to be demoted?"


	4. Oh Doctor, Give Me the News

It seemed especially dark in Gotham tonight, no stars to illuminate the gloomy sky, just the moon that barely peeked out from behind the rolling black clouds. Leaning against the old brick wall of the bustling bar, I checked the time on my cellphone, adjusting the thick-rimmed glasses that perched on my freckled nose. The harsh autumn wind blew at the fake chocolate brown hair that covered my fire engine red locks. I felt my phone vibrate in the palm of my hand; blinking, I stared down at the phone, the word **Hatter** flashing on and off. Pressing the talk button, I held the phone up to my ear.

"What is it?" I asked, not bothering with a greeting.

The voice of a man with what sounded like a faux English accent welcomed me, "Good evening my lovely Queen," Oh Hatter, he was always one for flattery, "I'd like to give you another piece of information one of my informants just received."

My eyebrow rose, despite the fact he couldn't see the curious look on my face, he knew what his little statement just sparked in me, "Oh really? And what would that be?"

"That Scarecrow fellow, he uses some sort of gas, I believe he calls it fear toxin." As he explained the effects of the drug, my face grew grim.

"Is that it?" I asked with a slight frown on my face.

"Yes my Queen, I hope it was helpful." Was his reply.

"Of course it was. Thank you Hatter." Without waiting for a good-bye, I hung up, immediately pressing the number two button, a ringing noise erupting from the receiver and almost instantaneously I heard Damien's voice call from the other end.

"Hello?"

"How close are you to the port?" I asked; I could hear the sound of cars rushing by in the background.

"Uh…" I heard him ask someone in the car with him, Ace's voice barely reached my ears as a mumble, "About five minutes, I guess."

"Stop and get gas masks." I ordered, "Hatter called me and told me this guy uses some sort of toxin as a weapon."

"Toxin?" Damien murmured, "That's interesting."

"Not really." I grumbled, "The plan's going to have to be pushed back a bit, hopefully he'll still be there."

"Alright, see you in a while then." I mumbled a good-bye, shoving my phone into the pocket of the bright red wool coat that protected me from the howling winds. The heels of my boots clicked against the pavement as I began walking into the crowded sidewalk, my heart pounding with an emotion I haven't felt in quite some time.

Excitement.

~ ~

"Start in three…"

It was silent.

"Two…"

Almost too silent.

"One…"

A malicious grin ripped at my face as I watched the lights in the port flicker a few times, before completely submerging the area in darkness, pulling up my gas mask, the grin still on my face as an anxious feeling overwhelmed me. The sound various unfamiliar questioning voices filled the murky vicinity, then suddenly, the entire port erupted with screams; screams of pain that is.

Abruptly, all the noise stopped, and the lights flickered back on, the floor was littered with bodies, Ace and Damien, both seemingly unscathed were standing amongst the battered and bloody soon-to-be corpses, in the middle of my Ace and King was a rather tall man, his unusually skinny figure only seemed accentuated by the business-like suit he adorned.

But the most curious thing about him was the burlap sack that concealed his face.

And from inside the mask, I saw two blindingly blue eyes staring straight at me.

"Get him."

~ ~

"Well, well." I was mocking him, "If it isn't the big bad Scarecrow." He hated it.

He was silent, blue eyes staring up at me indifferently.

The man, only known to me as Scarecrow, was securely strapped to the stainless steel chair that shined menacingly in the soft radiance of a once luminescent bulb. He didn't struggle against his restraints; he sat there unmoving as I leaned down towards him, staring into the pools of blue I loathed oh-so-much.

Pulling at my bulky gas mask, it fell around my neck, hanging limply, exposing my sneering ruby lips, "Time to find out who you really are." Nails digging into the rough fabric of the mask, I slowly pulled it off. I could feel my Faces' anticipation, as they stood behind me, watching the scene quietly.

As the man's smooth chin became visible, then his bee-stung lips, then squared nose, then sickeningly blue eyes; the feeling of recognition slowly dawned on me.

I knew him.

"You…" Eyes staring at me with an analytical overtone, they always stared at me that way.

Even now.

Even when he was the one that was at my mercy, not me to his; he still stared at me like I was the insane one.

I _abhorred_ it.

My hands clenched around the burlap bag, the coarse material digging painfully into my delicate skin, but it didn't even snap me out of my hate induced stupor.

"Well, if it isn't the good doctor." I scoffed deridingly, my lips turning up in disgust, "What a surprise." I bowed my head down so I was eye-to-eye with him, an uncontrolled laugh tearing at my throat, "Who knew the crazy doctor was actually a crazy!" But I was far from amused.

He gave me a blank look, clearly not recognizing me, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Ripping off the mousy wig, I let my redder than red locks cascade down my back, rippling like fire, "Of course you know me, you sick son of a bitch."

Perking up, he leaned forward, closer to me, inspecting me with scrutinizing eyes, "Oh, Charlotte, forgive me. It's been a few years since you… _left_."

Growling in an almost animalistic way, I grabbed his chin, nails embedding themselves into his pale skin, "Don't call me that." He didn't draw back from my hold, but he most certainly did wince as my nails dug deeper into his face, "Or, I'll be sure to rip that tongue right out."

With lips tugged into a tight smirk, and eyes gleaming with arrogance, he gave his retort, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you liked to be called Eleanor, you were always a fiery one. I could never figure out what made you tick."

"Shut up."

He didn't, "Still have a short temper, I see. Guess you haven't been taking your meds." I bet even he could hear my teeth grind together as the burlap sack dropped soundlessly to the floor. Releasing my grip from his chin, I reeled back my clenched fist, sending it soaring into that pretty face of his.

Blood splattered against the crusty wall that was a foot or two from us.

Red.

That was much better.

Better than the ugly color of his eyes.

Sending an ominous glance over my shoulder towards my two cohorts, I ordered them to leave.

"But Ellie…" Adrian, who had arrived not too long ago, started, "The cops are probably gonna be here soon."

Giving out a whine of annoyance, a thought, no, an idea hit me like a ton of bricks and I grabbed the pocket knife I stored inside my left boot, , "What're you doing?" Damien asked.

"Cutting the good doctor loose." I answered, while slashing the ropes that prevented any movement from Scarecrow, before any of them could question me, a catty grin took over my face, "I just got a wonderful idea."

Heaving the doctor up by the arm, I ignored his curious stare, "May I inquire what that idea is Eleanor?" He asked, eyes locking with mine.

"You may not!" Giggling with exhilaration, I pushed him towards the exit, "But it is a wonderful idea!"

"Whenever she gets a wonderful idea, someone gets hurt." I heard Adrian mutter pitifully, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Oh don't worry!" My laughter was anything but infectious as I tugged Scarecrow along with me, "It won't be any of you."

It is a magnificent plan.

One of my best.


	5. An Apple a Day

_Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been able to update recently since things have been a bit hectic, but I finally managed to get the fifth chapter done. (: Hope you enjoy!_

"Is everything alright Eleanor?" Ace asked as he watched my scarlet nails tap incessantly against my dark burgundy desk.

"Everything is fine." I answered tersely, "What time is it?"

He looked down at his wristwatch, bringing it up from his side, "A little past one o'clock."

"He'll be here soon then." I muttered to myself as the tapping became louder as I chewed on my lip, eyes switching to the door in anticipation when I heard the doorknob turn with a creek. A pair of blue eyes locked with mine when the door swung open and I held back my urge to cringe as I greeted the good doctor with a forced smile, "Good afternoon… Crane."

"Eleanor." He nodded to me, eyes slipping to Ace for a split second, "I have some news for you."

"Good news, I hope." My grin broadened as he sat down in the seat across from me, Damien who had escorted Crane to my office had taken his place at my right side, Ace at my left, "I don't want to be disappointed."

Crane chuckled dryly, looking at me with a fake smile all his own, "I'm sure you'll be pleased since he's agreed to the plan."

"As I had hoped he would." My hands were laced together in front of my mouth, hiding my smirk as I leaned my elbows on the desk.

"He says you'll be a valuable part due to your… connections."

I raised an eyebrow before a pleased look overcame my face, "He knows me well then."

"Neither he nor I would go into business with someone without finding out all their dirty little secrets." I took in a sharp breath, my face tightening as my eyes narrowed into a slight glare, a frown playing at my lips.

I stood up, the legs of my chair scraping against the hardwood floor, "I'll make arrangements for the shipping then."

"As planned." His eyes followed me as I walked past him and an odd feeling burned at my gut as my stomach churned uneasily.

He knows something.

"Please escort Doctor Crane to the van for me," I ordered both Ace and Damien who looked surprised as I spoke, "I'll meet you down stairs in a moment."

"Yes ma'am." Damien replied sarcastically causing me to send a look over my shoulder. Another chair screeched against the floor as Crane stood up, eyes watching me as I left the room, a scowl etched into my face.

-

I lifted myself into the passenger seat of the old beat up van, the springs in the seat squeaking as I sat down. It made a low rumbling noise as Ace started it up before springing to life with a great roar. Crane and Damien were seated in the back, Damien's arm flung over the back of the seat both he and Crane shared, grinning at me as I watched Crane shift in an awkward manner in the rear view mirror, sitting stiff as a board as he stared straight ahead, face firm and unmoving.

Light jazz music filled the van as I turned the radio up. Both Damien and I looked over at Ace whose ears were beginning to turn red as he quickly swatted my hand away from the dial, switching stations. A dark melody laced with guitar riffs began to flow out of the speakers.

_Much better_, I thought, my head bobbing to the beat as I hummed the melody.

It was silent, save for the light hum of the music that echoed through the speakers. I could still feel his eyes practically burning a hole into the back of my head though. My leg started to shake with annoyance until I noticed we had pulled into our destination.

"This is your port I assume?" Crane asked as we filed out of the van, the shipping area was large but isolated from the rest of the city.

"Sort of…" I told him as I looked around, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

"What do you mean sort of?" He looked unsure for a moment and I smirked.

"Well, I can't buy something like this under my name," I heard Damien snort from behind me as I walked over to the large storage containers, "A man owns this, we simply made a… a deal with him in order to use it."

"Why do I have the feeling that it's more of a one way deal?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous. I just told him to let us use his shipping yard and in return we wouldn't kill him. I think that's a deal of a lifetime." I turned back toward him; my eyes glowed with malice, "Don't you?"

He practically scoffed, "Of course, that sounds very fair to both sides."

I laughed, "I am known for my fairness."

Damien choked back a laugh and I saw a smirk appear on Ace's face.

"Anyway, down to business. You'll be using this port to ship in your little hallucinogen and in exchange we get paid and everyone's happy."

Crane interrupted me as I went to talk again and I found myself glaring at him, "You'll also be helping us with the final plan as well."

"Yes I know that." I gritted my teeth, "How much have you dumped into the water main already?"

"A few hundred pounds, but in order to make it work we have to ship at a larger quantity, which we aren't able to do using the shipping yard we are now."

"Which is why you have me," I said, "And just remember," I heard a car pull up and a few of Crane's goons stepped out, "If you dare to try and fuck me over, there _will_ be consequences." With that said, Damien, Ace and I made our way back to the van.

"Are you sure it's okay to do this without telling the other Faces?" Ace asked as we got into the van, leaving Crane and his cronies standing there as they surveyed the place.

I snorted, "I'll tell them eventually. The less they know the better. I don't want _another _thorn in my side."

-

It's been a week since our deal began and Crane has made it a point to "check up" on me every single day.

_Prick._

"How are you Eleanor?" He asked as he sat down across from me in a seat that I'm sure he believed to be his own by now, his hands folded together on the table, blue eyes covered by thin framed glasses.

"Fine." I grumbled, flipping through the stack of papers that contained our latest plan of action, "I have a meeting with the other faces today, so I'm afraid I'll be cutting our little therapy session short."

His eyes widened slightly, "What gave you the idea that our talks are therapy sessions?"

My lips formed a sneer as I stood up abruptly, slamming my hands onto my desk, Crane staring at me slightly wide-eyed, "Listen doc, I've humored you enough." I glowered down at him, "I've been to Arkham far too many times not to know what it's like when someone's trying to dissect me like a frog."

He let out a staggered breath, leaning back in his chair, hands no longer folded, instead they rested on the arms of the chair, "I guess you've found me out."

"Obviously." My voice was laced with sarcasm as my eyes rolled to the ceiling, "Now get out." I walked past him, opening the door to my office, waiting for him to leave.

As he did, he stopped in front of me; eyes that were made of ice seemed to analyze every small movement I made, "Before I leave, I have a question for you."

My grip on the door tightened, "What?" I hissed.

He backed into the doorway, a smug look on his face, "What do you fear?"

I stared at him for a moment, my face hardened with a look of anger as I let out my answer with a snarl, "Myself." The door slammed shut and I stood there, waiting for him to leave.

I waited five minutes until I heard his footsteps walking away before long I couldn't hear them at all.

I ran my hand through my hair, lurching back to my desk where my papers were slightly askew from the fit I had just thrown. I hurriedly fixed them, ignoring the headache that was beginning to form at the back of my head, picking them up as I heard a knock on the door.

"Crane just left. The meeting is about to begin." Ace's voice was muffled by the door.

"Coming." I called out; taking one last look at the chair Crane had sat in just minutes before, a scowl on my face.

-

The meeting room was bustling with voices as I entered, Ace, Damien and Adrian following behind me; each of us took our rightful seat at the table, catching the attention of the other Faces.

"Hello dear." Giselle greeted me as always with a smile falling on her thin lips which I returned, although mine was a bit sour.

"Hello everyone." I leaned back into my chair, hearing a few 'hello's and what-not as my Faces and I got settled.

"I'm surprised you're not late Eleanor." Cory spat at me, her face seeming even bitterer than my own, as she eyed us.

"Laura, must we go through this _every_ time we hold a meeting?" I didn't acknowledge the younger girl, who now looked offended as I addressed Laura, "Would you _please_, for the love of all that is holy, shut her the hell up," Before Laura could say anything else, I continued to talk, "Or I will have the pleasure of shutting her up for you." The air thickened and Cory's glares became the equivalent to the expression of a kicked puppy.

Laura sent a look toward her Ace, who shrank down even more into her seat, grumbling under her breath about no one being able to take a joke, "Red here has some news for you all, if you're all quite done." Damien spoke up, breaking the silence that had settled in the room.

"News?" Deanna questioned, perking up slightly in her seat, "What sort of news?"

"I would just like to inform you all that we found out who Scarecrow is…"

I couldn't even finish as Deanna spoke up once more, "Oh really? Who is it?"

"He asked me to keep that little detail a secret, but rest assu-"

"You mean you're not going to tell us?" I let out a deep breath, closing my eyes as the headache that had begun to form in the back of my head slowly started to become more painful, "After you made such a big stink about this character? Hm, you really aren't that great of a leader if you can't even trust your own subordinates with a little bit of information."

"Are you done?" I asked Deanna as her sentence came to an end.

"Yes I am done." She said snidely, arms crossing in defiance.

"Good, because this meeting is over. If none of you can stand to keep your fat mouths shut long enough for me to explain what's going on then you don't get to know what's going on." I stood up, sending a glare over Deanna's way as everyone watched as I walked to the door with surprise. I left, leaving my own Faces in the room with the others, trying desperately to ignore the pounding against my skull that caused me to wince in pain.

I made my way back to my office, taking a seat in my large chair, the hammering against my head becoming progressively worse. I blindly reached into my desk draw, trying to find the bottle of pills I kept buried underneath all the junk that had accumulated over the years, not caring if anything fell out of the drawer.

I popped open the bottle not bothering to look at the label, tossing a few pills into my mouth, swallowing them with ease and within a couple of minutes the pounding faded to a dull ache.

Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. Sitting up straight, I opened up my eyes and out of the corner of my eye, something white captured my attention.

Bending down, I picked up the paper that was almost fully underneath my desk, reading the scribbled handwriting. Picking up my cellphone that laid dejectedly on my desk, I dialed the number that was barely legible before hitting send, listening to the dreary ringing until I heard a voice at the other end pick up.

"Hello?"


	6. Headaches

My heels clicked against the linoleum floors of the dully lit hallway, even duller brown hair of the wig I was wearing flashed in front of my face, bouncing with each step I took. The burly security guard that was walking in front of me, guiding me through the maze-like hallways, looked as though he'd gladly be anywhere but here.

My eyes strayed from side to side, examining the building where just a few years prior, I had been held against my will, being fed pill after pill until I was in such a stupor that I didn't even know my ABCs or 123s.

I wasn't afraid of this place.

I wasn't shaking at the very sight of it all.

I wasn't cringing at the smell of insanity and hopelessness.

I was completely numb.

As we came to a stop in front of a door with the nameplate reading 'Dr. Quinzel', I took in a deep breath as the guard knocked on the wooden door, a faint 'come in' permitting us entrance into the office. He opened the door, allowing me to enter first, following closely behind me.

A woman stood at the desk in the middle of the room, her blue eyes that were hidden behind glasses were concentrated on the files she was organizing, and blonde hair was pulled up into a bun.

"You may leave." She said, eyes turning away from the papers in her hand to the guard, who merely grunted, the door slamming behind him.

I didn't even blink as my eyes met hers, "Hey Harls."

"I wasn't expecting you to call Ellie." She looked back at her papers, putting them into a folder, dropping the folder into a drawer in her desk, closing it as she sat down in the chair behind her desk.

I took a seat in the chair across from her desk, smoothing out the pencil skirt I wore, "I wasn't expecting _to_ call Harls."

"Did something happen?" She looked worried.

"The headaches are coming back."

"For how long?"

My gaze slid to one side, taking interest in the enormous bookshelf to my right, "It hasn't been anything to worry about…

"Then why are you here?"

"… Until yesterday."

Harleen turned away from me, digging through one of the drawers to her left, coming out with a bright orange bottle, "Here." She tossed it to me, the pills inside rattling as it flew through the air.

I caught it with ease, "Thanks Harls." I got up, slipping the bottle into the pocket of my pea coat. I made my way to the door and just as I was about to open it, she spoke up.

"How have you been?"

The wood of the door was dark and polished, and as I stared at it, my reflection could be seen faintly in it, "Fine."

I didn't have to look at her to know she was looking at me with pity and as I walked out the door her eyes followed me.

I closed the door behind me, standing in front of it for a few seconds before turning down the hallway I had come from, taking in a deep breath as a familiar figure greeted my vision.

I kept my gaze straight in front of me and as we passed each other, my eyes met ice for a split second.

I turned my head away, picking up the pace, eager to leave the cage where I had been held for so long.

-

"What were you doing there?" He wasn't even looking at me.

I felt my ears heat up as my gaze narrowed at Crane, "It's none of your business."

The air chilled and the temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees as the wind picked up, blowing my red locks all over the place. My hands were stuffed into the pockets of my coat, the light sound of the pills rattling in the bottle echoed through the shipping yard.

Several of Crane's men were loading crates into trucks, paying no mind to the two of us.

"It is my business; you could sabotage the whole plan with your moronic actions." His voice was barely above a whisper, but you could clearly hear the anger in his voice.

My nostrils flared slightly, eyes lighting up in anger, "I said it's none of your business!" My voice faltered as I screamed at the doctor, "So butt out!" One of the men dropped the crate that he was loading and all attention turned to me.

"Let's take a ride."

Crane's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, "What?"

"Get in the van." I ordered harshly, making my way to the driver's side of the van that was parked just a few feet away from me as Crane got into the passenger's seat without another word. I ignored the look he gave me as I started up the van, pulling out of the shipping area with a squeal.

"What is it you'd like to talk about Eleanor?" He asked, his face calm despite his hand frantically reaching for the seatbelt as I made a sharp turn into the middle of traffic.

"There are no seatbelts." I informed him before getting down to business, my eyes focusing on the road as I wove in and out of the line of traffic, "I would like to have a little chat with you about your behavior towards me."

"What could you possibly mean Eleanor?" He sounded annoyed.

"I_ mean_," The sound of car horns filled the air as I barely missed an oncoming car, "I'm not one of your patients."

"You were." He pointed out.

I made another sharp turn, causing him to slam into the window, "Well I'm not anymore, so stop trying to analyze me and stop acting as though what I do on my own time is any business of yours because contrary to what _you_ believe it's _not_."

The faint buzz of the police scanner that was underneath Crane's seat caught my attention as well as Crane's, "Get that." I ordered, pointing to under his seat.

He quickly picked it up, setting it in his lap as we listened closely to the voices fading in and out.

A woman's voice came in fuzzy, "… need someone… shipping yard thirty five… downtown."

My eyes went wide as I turned the wheel with full force, making a (illegal) U-turn into the other lane, "You don't think…" Crane didn't say anything, just staring ahead, "Are your men really stupid enough to…"

"They're not my men."

"Well that's wonderful to hear."

I'm surrounded by idiots.

-

"They got caught?!" Damien sputtered, nearly falling out of his chair as he stared wide-eyed at Crane and I.

"Yes, they got caught." I hissed, collapsing in a plush seat next to him, gesturing for Crane to do so as well.

"How did they even find out about it?" Ace asked from behind me where he stood with his arms cross, a blank look on his face.

The scowl on my face deepened as Crane spoke, "Apparently, someone knew about it and took matters into their own hands. When the police arrived everyone was knocked out and Falcone was tied to a search light." It was only a few moments ago that Crane had even bothered to tell me that Falcone was in on this whole shebang as well. You would think that I'm just some crone a part of a bigger plan, not one of the main components by how much he tells me.

"Any ideas who did it?" Adrian piped up.

"No clue." My nostrils flared as my eyes narrowed, "We'll have to rethink this entire plan if someone knows what we're up to."

"Or, we have to find this person and shut them up." I looked at Crane with an eyebrow cocked before a grin ripped at my face.

Yes, that's a brilliant idea.

"Adrian, did you ever finish that project you were working on?"


End file.
